Case Studies and Examples

The case studies highlight how local governments, non-profits,
community organizations, and the private sector are responding to
climate change. New case studies will be added periodically. Use
the submission form below to recommend an innovative effort that
should be included.

Challenges and Solutions

The case studies are organized by solutions that practitioners are
finding to a common set of challenges in adaptation. These challenges
span the spectrum of community planning to project implementation.

In addition to the case studies developed by OPR staff, the
Clearinghouse includes case studies from the Ocean Protection
Council, the Local Government Commission’s CivicSpark program,
CalTrans’ SB1 Adaptation Planning grantees, and more.

Other Examples

Find more case studies and examples on the following sites:

The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research has many ongoing partnerships and programs to produce case studies of replicable best practices, some of which are highlighted in the Best Practice Pilot Program. The office is currently collecting a variety of case studies that will be updated on an ongoing basis.

The Georgetown Adaptation Clearinghouse provides resources that help policymakers at all levels of governments reduce or avoid the impacts of climate change to communities in the United States. The Adaptation Clearinghouse focuses on climate change impacts that adversely affect people and our built environment. Content focal areas include the water, coastal, transportation, infrastructure and public health sectors, and adaptation planning, policies, laws, and governance.

The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKEX) aims to build a shared knowledge base for managing natural and built systems in the face of rapid climate change. Just as importantly, it is intended to help build an innovative community of practice. It helps users to find appropriate resources quickly by vetting and clearly organizing the best information available, building a community via an interactive online platform, creating a directory of practitioners to share knowledge and strategies, an identifying and explaining data tools and information available from other sites. CakeX consists of case studies, a virtual library, directory and tools and houses a variety of community forums for the discussion of current issues in climate adaptation.

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit is a website designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience, offering information from all across the U.S. federal government in one easy-to-use location. The goal of the Toolkit is to improve people’s ability to understand and manage their climate-related risks and opportunities, and to help them make their communities and businesses more resilient to extreme events. Visit their easy-to-use case studies page to filter by threat/stressor, topic, region, and steps to resilience.

The Local Government Commission works to build livable communities and local leadership by connecting leaders via innovative programs and network opportunities, advancing policies through participation at the local and state level, and implementing solutions as technical assistance provider to local jurisdictions. LGC is an active leader in California climate adaptation by playing an active partnership role in the Alliance for Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA), administering the Governor’s Initiative AmeriCorps program, CivicSpark , and much more. Visit their climate change resources page or browse current CivicSpark projects taking place throughout the state to stay up to date on some of their adaptation and resilience-focused work.

The Institute for Local Government has a number of adaptation resources including case studies of climate adaptation plans in California to showcase the variety of formats adaptation planning can take and the many levels and forms of government that can make it happen. Local actions being taken in California through policy and program initiatives. Through the GIS map, click on any local government to see the work they are doing on climate change.

California Natural Resources Agency. 2018

Snowpack

Project or Example

California state agencies collaborated to compile each of these examples, associated with Safeguarding California's 2018 update, to show how California is preparing for and adjusting to various extreme events brought on by climate change. … Each of these examples highlights unique strategies, funded by the state, to combat and adapt to the effects of climate change. The examples are tagged with icons from the Safeguarding California Report, classifying stories by sector. This example showcases a local school that renovated its roof to be better prepared for increased snow accumulation and winter extreme weather.

California Natural Resources Agency. 2018

California state agencies collaborated to compile each of these examples, associated with Safeguarding California's 2018 update, to show how California is preparing for and adjusting to various extreme events brought on by climate change. … Each of these examples highlights unique strategies, funded by the state, to combat and adapt to the effects of climate change. The examples are tagged with icons from the Safeguarding California Report, classifying stories by sector. This example focuses on the Cal-Adapt's useful to the energy sector.

Sierra Business Council. 2018

DroughtExtreme stormsFloodingSnowpackWildfire

Case Study

This project supported both Sierra Business Council’s Climate Planning program and the Sierra Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership (Sierra CAMP). The Climate Planning team worked to implement the Energy Action Plans of Alpine County … and Sierra County, and Sierra CAMP focused on network education and expansion. The goal for both programs was to assist Sierra stakeholders in understanding adaptation and the tools needed to plan for climate change, and to promote community climate action and education.

Town of Mammoth Lakes. 2018

DroughtSnowpackWildfire

Case Study

The project will develop climate adaptation and resiliency strategies for the Town of Mammoth Lakes to inform a General Plan update and incorporate Senate Bill 379 requirements. A vulnerability assessment will be prepared and adaptation … strategies will be developed. The entirety of Mammoth Lakes is identified as a Low-Income Community per AB 1550. Adaptation goals, policies, and implementation measures will inform an update of the General Plan to reflect recommendations developed through a collaborative process.

Eco Adapt. 2018

AssessmentCase StudyCommunication or educational materialData, tools, and researchPlan or strategyProject or Example

The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) is a site that helps users find resources by organizing and explaining data, tools and information available from other sites. It includes an interactive online platform and a directory of … practitioners to share knowledge and strategies. CAKE consists of case studies, a virtual library, directory and tools and houses a variety of community forums for the discussion of current issues in climate adaptation.

Georgetown University: Georgetown Climate Center. 2018

AssessmentCase StudyCommunication or educational materialData, tools, and researchPlan or strategyPlanning and policy guidanceProject or Example

The Georgetown Climate Center's Adaptation Clearinghouse is an online database and networking site that serves policymakers and others who are working to help communities adapt to climate change. This Clearinghouse features a wide array … of resources, including research papers, case studies, plans, climate science, modeling tools, and more. Content focal areas include the water, coastal, transportation, infrastructure and public health sectors, and adaptation planning, policies, laws, and governance.

United States Global Change Research Program. 2018

Case StudyData, tools, and researchPlanning and policy guidanceProject or Example

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit is a website designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience. The Toolkit offers information from all across the U.S. federal government … in one location. Some features of the Toolkit include the Climate Explorer visualization tool, a five-step resilience planning process, case studies documenting climate-related risks and responses, and a federal resource database.